Tracker Jackers
by purified-sam
Summary: This is a one shot that tells the tale of the first and last time Glimmer experiences Tracker Jackers. Rated T due to character death. Reposted and edited from my old account LNS.


I was unlucky enough to experience tracker jackers at a young age. The memory is still engraved within my mind and to this day it still claws its way into my though processes. The venom of a tracker jacker is excruciating especially as I was so small and fragile when the incident occurred. I had been idly ambling down a near deserted street; the only signs of life were my mother and me. Her breath gathered in the form of fog in front of our faces and the coldness created shivers that ran down my back in constant patterns. My hair was radiant under the street lights of our district, to some it appeared like a halo that rested neatly upon my head. The wind was blowing viscously however, it still wrapped itself around me like a blanket and if it had not been so bitter it would have been soothing. The sun was setting along the broad horizon which itself cradled the sun, protecting it from the world around us, it was almost as if the horizon was sending the sun away to sleep for another tranquil night. The sky was filled with dilute, pearly greys and it radiated nothing but peace and contentment, it felt like nothing bad could ever happen. Of course this fact could not be true, at a young age you are protected from the ruthlessness in the world however, the older you get the more insightful the world becomes.

We kept up our quick pace through the cobbled streets that had leaves aimlessly blowing through the streets, the vast array of colours moved in a haze. I should have seen the sign at first; that almost inaudible buzz. I casually let it go not suspecting it to be anything other than a sound from one of the nearby houses. However, as I descended further, getting closer and closer to my house with every step I took they followed us. It seemed that the closer I came to my house, the closer they got themselves. After a short period of time, they began to pick up on my radar. I was only eight at the time so the noise had confused me; I hadn't known anything could make that noise. Out of curiosity I turned my head to the side and froze from shock. Miniscule silhouettes hovered in the air a fair distance behind us and they were coming at us faster. Although it didn't look as if they were coming for us, it seemed that we were just in the way. I turned frantically back around and tugged at my mother's sleeve, unsure of what to do in the moment. My mother's beautiful blue eyes gazed down upon me and a small smile played upon her lips, it fell almost immediately when she saw the anxiety that was written on my face.

"Mother, what are they?" I asked while my voice faltered, I had no clue what they were however; I had not liked the sound. I pointed a shaky finger towards the silhouettes and as she followed my finger she herself froze.

"Glimmer we can't run, they will see us just walk away slowly. Take my hand and don't worry." My mother whispered to me with obvious panic in her voice. I looked at her hand and grabbed it, both of our hands were shaking and when they both clasped together, my entire arm started vibrating. I had been so scared, I had been eight and so naïve and innocent, it hadn't seemed much to me in the moment. Just as we turned around, our sudden swift movement must have court their eyes as they descended upon us. My mother gripped my hand and tugged me along with her, our footsteps echoed around the deserted streets. Our attempts were futile though, they had caught up with us. Everything had happened in a blur, my mother screaming and the pain, the pain was all that had clouded my vision. I had been stung five times in total and I had felt each one of them and welcomed them with a scream. The pain with white hot and blinding, it was almost as if I was being tortured. I had been so fragile that the venom had spread much fast than it should have.

The pain was still there however, the visions where what came next. My eye sight turned into a haze for a few minutes before everything seemed to clear up. The pain was running around my body and I felt weak, as if I would crumble into ash. A movement to my right had caught my eye. I looked up and a smile spread across my face. They had lied! I knew it my father would never leave me, never. He would never die on me, I was his angel.

"Daddy!" I screamed trying to use whatever wait I had left to get myself of the ground however, I had none. His face was deathly pale, so pale in fact that I started to worry.

"Daddy are you okay? You must be okay your home!" I say with worry covering my soft voice. He then smiles and my heart fills with warmth and contentment.

"Of course I'm okay angel; nothing could take me away from my little girl." He murmurs while extending his arms for me to hug him. I use every ounce of my strength and gather myself to my feet. I make wobbly steps towards him and although the pain is excruciating I do not care, my daddy is here again. I'm about to reach his arms when they drop, I frown slight but then I see it, a spear is coming out of his side. A scream escapes my lips as I watch my dad fall the floor, blood falling in a glistening puddle around him. Tears leak from my eyes and I scream again. "Daddy! Daddy wake up, daddy please wake up!" I scream in a desperate attempt to wake his unmoving body up. He left me, he left me again. "No daddy please you can't leave me." I whisper as the tears flood down my cheeks and settle themselves on his body and the floor.

I fell backwards and curled myself into a ball, hoping to protect myself form the world around me. My tears continued to fall and the pain continued its way around my body. It was becoming too much and I could feel my body starting to shut down. My eyes became to flutter shut, blocking anymore tears that wanted to fall free. Visions of my father dying were falling around me and eventually the pain stopped and everything went black.

That had been my first experience with tracker jackers even now when my own death is before me that is the memory that I think about first. However, other memories float through my head, my sister taking me down to the lake and helping me feed the swans, my mother rocking me back and forth and singing to me after I had a bad dream and finally my father taking me out into the square and showing me all the different types of plants.

The tracker jackers where on me now and I was running away again, I always seemed to be running from such small creatures. It was petrifying that such fragile things could kill you. My attempts to get rid of them were futile, there are too many of them. The covered me like a blanket, there stings penetrating my skin. The pain descended upon my body and it was so familiar and foreign at the same time. My cries were ignored and I eventually collapsed onto the ground, my face leaking with tears. Everything was becoming hazy and I felt nothing but pain. They had won; I could feel my death so clear. I gripped onto my bow and my screams stopped, it was as if I was paralysed. I was trapped inside my own body. When I closed my eyes I saw my father smiling at me while we picked berries. He was gone and I would be in a matter of seconds however, I would be back with him and that thought was enough to make this okay. I would be away from this hell and I would finally be at peace. This time the pain continued however, when everything went black my eyes never opened again.


End file.
